ASoP Director Sarah Logan speaks at AHPA Congress

Mental health care should not be the exception.

Australian Society of Psychiatrists (ASoP) Director and lived-experience representative Sarah Logan was an invited speaker at the Australian Private Hospitals Association (AHPA) Congress in Adelaide, sharing a powerful perspective on one of the most pressing inequities in Australian healthcare.

Drawing on her own experience of navigating the mental health system, Sarah challenged the stark contrast between how Australia responds to physical illness and how it responds to mental illness.

“If I had a heart attack tomorrow, this country would guarantee me care. Triage in minutes. Surgery. A cardiologist on discharge. Follow up that actually happened.”

Yet for someone experiencing a mental health crisis, these same assurances simply do not exist.

Across Australia, people experiencing acute mental illness can face long waits in emergency departments, limited access to inpatient care, fragmented discharge planning and inconsistent community follow up. Access to timely specialist care often depends on geography, service availability and funding arrangements rather than clinical need.

Sarah highlighted that, despite more than a decade of governments recognising mental health as a national priority, many of the fundamental problems remain unresolved.

“What's missing isn't ideas — it's political will and the money to back them.”

As a lived-experience advocate and ASoP Director, Sarah brings an essential perspective to conversations about mental health reform. Her contribution at the Congress was a reminder that behind every policy discussion are real people seeking the same certainty, dignity and access to care that Australians expect when facing any other serious health condition.

Achieving genuine parity between mental and physical healthcare will require sustained commitment, investment and collaboration across the entire health system.